It had been his thought and project to make Chopard to a vertically integrated and, hence, safely separate, watch manufacture — their first movement they created in 1996 and since then have been on a roll, with self-developed chronographs, insanely complicated perpetual calendar chronograph, “All In One” watches, and simply the best sounding minute repeater into date.All this, and yet the Scheufele family stays almost totally behind the scenes of Chopard — in actuality, that “Grand Cru” designation is the only occasion I can think of when it’s something private to them that has been inserted to some Chopard watch. It’s the most bashful and timid way, since they’re putting a reference to something that is their personal hobby and passion on a Chopard watch.The connected story is that the Scheufele family have recently acquired a vineyard and chateau — after some 20 years of study, to meet their enthusiasm for wine-making. In reality, I’ve gotten to know Karl-Friedrich Scheufele as a obsessive perfectionist for his passions, specifically watches and wine, as well as vintage cars. The motivations that led him to pursue the vineyard essentially offer the exact same kind of drive that led to his invention and success of the Chopard L.U.C division.However, Chopard should ideally find a way to credit the Scheufele’s for exactly what they have done to make Chopard into what it is and turn this into a personal, relatable element — but, with all the best will in the world, I seriously doubt that the above-mentioned story will be obtained and then forwarded on the consumer by even the most inspired Chopard sales staff. Maybe if more people were educated regarding the Scheufele family as well as their role in making Chopard what it is now, there would be a stronger connection between this watch and how its identity is both introduced and marketed.
Platinum has grown on me due to its psychological value. To begin with, you never truly forget you’re wearing a platinum watch. Its weight makes it much more “old school” as a luxury product when weight aided you measure the value of something. Thus, in comparison to some steel watch, you really realize that something different is in your wrist when sporting platinum (and there’s value in being reminded of that). Paradoxically, these days watchmakers are equally as interested in creating watches lighter in weight (maybe more curious) than making hefty gold or platinum watches.Platinum is also more discreet than yellow gold, or most other metals of gold. The same argument can be made for white gold. This means that while you since the wearer know you have something precious, that fact is much less obvious for those seeing the watch on you. Therefore, individuals who are more interested in using a “personal” relationship with their luxury toys, and sporting them for private versus public pleasure, will appreciate platinum. Wearing it means that you want to be able to afford it, but it also means you aren’t yelling that fact to the entire world. This kind of “luxury discretion” isn’t something to take lightly, and is a sporting consideration common amongst watch lovers across the globe.At 43mm wide, the L.U.C Lunar One is 11.47mm thick, with a comparatively long lug-to-lug space of about 52mm (water resistant to 50m). Note that while the situation is gold, the crown is produced out of 18k white gold. That is likely because platinum is a harder-to-machine material, and the particulars in the crown probably make it much easier to produce in gold.
This most up-to-date at Chopard’s deservedly vaunted L.U.C branch is called after the distinction given to the most outstanding levels of wine produced… Though, how these two distinct fields of fine living resonate we will try not just to explain, but also detect ourselves.Reminiscent and like this Chopard L.U.C XP Tonneau watch, the Heritage Grand Cru is an unusual bit from Chopard based on case shape alone — more on that in a bit. A glance in its spec sheet gives away an automatic, tonneau-shaped, 3.3mm thick motion wrapped within an 18kt rose gold, tonneau-shaped case that measures just 38.5mm with 38.8mm, coming in at a slender 7.7mm thick.The curved middle section of the case is vertical satin brushed while the bezel and place surrounding the display case-back is polished. Past the domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal is a white porcelain-type dial with black Roman numerals, using a second track surrounding the middle of the dial. At 6 o’clock is your tiny moments sub-dial, which can be snailed and has a gilded minutes hand. The minute and hour hands are dauphine design and are also gilded.It is not unusual for gold hands on watches to be polished to a place where it’s not even worth asking about legibility in higher-light conditions. The gilded, i.e. plated gold hands here are vibrant but are rather legible in the sunlight and at different angles. Set against the glistening, trendy porcelain dial, the dauphine-fusée hour and second hands are appropriately angular and simmer for a tonneau-shaped case. Fusée means rocket in French and this particular sort of dauphine hands is Chopard’s own — something I continue to very much enjoy regardless the situation shape and dial style they put in it on. Their faceted sides and perfect length give them plenty of quantity — and no opinion could be taken seriously without appropriate hands.
Chopard has created a special edition L.U.C. XP timepiece for the Chinese Year of the Horse in 2014, with a dial decorated in Japanese lacquer, or maki-e.
The Chopard Vintage Watches Ladies Replica L.U.C. XP Urushi Year of the Horse is an ultra-thin timepiece with a lavishly decorated dial. Though Chopard calls this urushi, it is actually maki-e (Japanese for “sprinkled picture”), a highly developed technique of decorative lacquer. The horse motif is created via sprinkled gold powder, gold foil and mother-of-pearl, all applied laboriously by hand, hence the name maki-e. Urushi, on the other hand, refers the lacquer obtained from a particular lacquer tree found in Asia, and urushi-e is the term for a picture painted with coloured lacquer.
Measuring 39.5 mm wide and 6.98 mm high, the L.U.C. XP is intended as a formal watch. Inside is the L.U.C Calibre 96.17-L, an ultra-thin movement with a micro-rotor. The Chopard L.U.C. XP Urushi Year of the Horse is presented in a box decorated with urushi. The price has yet to be announced but the other LUC XP Urushi models retail for just under US$25,000 so expect this to be similar. – SJX
